Mourning
by CathGilLove
Summary: I can't let you have all the drunk fun. Set after Babies and Bathwater
1. Chapter 1

1/3

Dr Lisa Cuddy lay back on her couch, her glass of wine in her hand. She had entered medicine with all the hopes and dreams a young doctor could have. Helping people had been her main reason, as had the ability to save more lives.

So far she seemed to be screwing things up in that department.

Actually no, that wasn't true. Most of it was House's fault.

One hundred million dollars. She kept thinking of how many lives it could save. How much good it could do.

She couldn't hate Gregory House. She'd certainly tried to for years. Arrogant, cranky, narrow-minded bastard.

The doorbell being pressed insistently got her attention. Apart from that, it was going to give her a migraine.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Opening her door to reveal Gregory House standing on her doorstep was not among her favorite fantasies. Especially tonight.

House held up a bottle of Jack Daniels. "We're in mourning, remember?" Without waiting for an invitation, he limped his way in, noting the opened bottle of wine. "I see you've got a head start on me." He sat down on her couch as if it was his house. "I can't let you have all the drunk fun."

"What are you doing?" She stood, her arms folded and glaring at him.

"This, Dr Cuddy, is called sitting down. A novel idea." He let his gaze wander over her, zeroing in on her lower half. "Plus, I get the added bonus of a very nice view of your legs."

Cuddy frowned, sitting down opposite him and crossing her legs. "I'm really not in the mood for your adolescent games."

House sighed, setting the bottle on her coffee table. "I'm sorry I cost you one hundred million dollars."

She paused, her eyes widening. This was new. Disturbingly new. Maybe the wine had gone to her head. "Did you just apologize to me?"

"Don't get excited about it. At least that sort of excited." House was pleased to see her trying to comprehend him. Maybe he'd been going at it from the wrong angle all these years. Perhaps to really have fun with her, he needed to confuse her.

"Why did you come here? You've never apologized to me for anything before."

"Maybe I've never seen anything mean so much to you before." Take that, Dr Cuddy.

Cuddy arched an eyebrow. This was not good. Things were getting out of her control. Lisa Cuddy needed to be in control. "Who are you and what have you done with Gregory House?"

House gestured to the bottle. "I'm not drunk yet." Yes, this was certainly going his way.

She went into the kitchen, bringing out a glass and a corkscrew. "Knock yourself out." Drunk House was easier. If there was one thing she'd learnt over the years of knowing him, THAT was it.

"I haven't liked you lately, Cuddy." House poured himself a drink. He thought if he was going to get drunk, he might as well piss her off too. Gregory House found both of these pleasant pastimes.

Cuddy picked up her wine glass, a grim smile on her face. "You've never liked me."

House just watched her, wondering where she'd gotten an idea like that. After all, he'd make it perfectly plain over the years that he did indeed like her. "That's not true. I don't like anybody. But out of everybody, I don't not like you the least."

Cuddy blinked, her hand tightening around the wineglass. "Well. As soon as I fully understand what you just said, I'll say thank you. I think."

"Don't."

"Excuse me?"

"Don't thank me. Things get uncomfortable between us when we have something important to say." House sipped his drink. "Let's just get drunk and forget it."

"Why didn't you like me around Vogler?"

"Behold the master of the subtle subject change."

"Answer the question."

"You'd probably make a good dominatrix. As for Vogler's little period of hell, you acted like a puppy dog. I never thought I'd see you at that level."

"Go to hell."

"That's just where we've been during Vogler's reign of terror. Do keep up, Doctor Cuddy." He watched her turn a nice shade of fuschia.

"I was NOT a puppy dog."

"You are the most stubborn, arrogant, driven women in possession of thighs and funbags like that I've ever met, and you turned into this little puppy following Vogler around and doing his dirty work. You even admitted to me that you didn't like doing it." House narrowed his eyes. "It was rather pathetic actually."

"I wouldn't have HAD to do it if you'd just stop acting like a stubborn, arrogant jerk!"

"What? Because I don't wear a lab coat?"

"Among other things!"

"Money obsession. Ka-ching!"

"Go to hell."

"Said that already, Cuddy." House's eyes trailed upwards, watching her cleavage rise up and down as she took angry breaths.

She stared down at him. "Do you purposely try to annoy me?"

"Of course. Life would be boring if I couldn't annoy you."

"I'm sure you'd find someone to annoy."

"Wouldn't be the same." That was certainly true. To begin with, he'd definitely be out of a job already.

Cuddy glanced at the bottle of Jack Daniels. "Are you sure you weren't drinking before you came here?"

"It isn't as much fun getting drunk alone."

"I'm flattered." Cuddy leant back and watched him for a moment. Her eyes ran over his lanky frame. Zeroed in on his leg. The cane. Her decision that…

"Why do you always pick on me?" House asked.

She was startled out of her reverie and looked at him. "Excuse me?"

"I'm always the one you're picking on." He narrowed his eyes. "You know, in some situations, that means you really like me."

"We're not in third grade."

"Aren't we? Gee, things have seemed that way lately."

"Why are you being so…affectionate?"

"What?" He was perplexed. His Dr Cuddy didn't say things like that. This was new. And uncomfortable.

"Well, let's put it this way. Affectionate and nice…for you."

House looked around. "Oh, I'm sorry, were you talking to me?"

Cuddy stood up. "You know, this was a bad idea. You should go."

House stood up in front of her. "You really want me to go? We haven't finished the bottle yet."

"I'll finish it myself."

"That's not fair."

"Life isn't fair." She really needed him out of her house. Away from her. Far away.

"Why do you hate me so much?"

Cuddy took a step back. "What is the matter with you tonight? You're acting so…normal. It's really…creepy."

House quirked an eyebrow. "Creepy?"

"Whatever. Just go, House."

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"I said no. Fighting with you gets the blood pumping. I'm feeling pretty good right about now."

"What kind of good?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

"Please…please leave."

He stopped. It had been many years since she'd sounded like that. Pleading, trying to keep herself cocooned in that little Cuddyworld she never let people in.

Well fine, he'd let her. This was dredging up ancient history. Very uncomfortable ancient history.

"Fine. Go back to hibernating in your world without real people." He'd go back to his…whatever it was. And what the hell WAS the matter with him tonight?

Cuddy stood, arms folded, just staring at him. He started to stride out the door.

"You, Dr Cuddy, have got to let go sometime. Mourning period was declared over a long time ago."


	2. Chapter 2

2?

House stared through the glass of Cuddy's office at the woman inside. Her head was bent over a pile of paper that she was studiously working her way through. Her hair was pulled back into a bun, which House longed to tug so that the tresses would fall out over her shoulders.

No doubt she'd then hit him for doing it, but he was more than willing to take a little pain with his pleasure.

With that thought in mind, he pushed open the door and went in.

"Go away."

"Gee, that's not nice, Dr. Cuddy."

"Well, I'm not nice. Good thing you found it out. Go away."

Instead, House sat down on the chair in front of her desk.

"What part of go away don't you understand?"

"Oh sorry, you wanted me to go? Sometimes I don't hear so well. You mumble."

Cuddy put her pen down, looking up at him. "Alright, what do you want?"

"Mourning period. It's over."

"Thanks for the bulletin."

"I'm serious, Cuddy." He tapped his leg with his cane. "See? I'm not mourning."

"No, you're just drugging yourself up so much with Vicodin that you're going to go into liver failure. Apart from everything else that's wrong with you."

"You're all heart."

Cuddy looked up at him. "You know what I mean."

"Why can't you let it go?"

"Everytime I see you…it's there."

"What do you want me to do? Amputate my leg?"

She sighed. "It's not just the call I made. It's everything afterwards. Everything we went through afterwards."

"You mean this lovely relationship we have at the moment?"

"I'd hardly call getting on each other's nerves a lovely relationship."

House grinned. "I would." He shifted slightly, leaning his cane against her desk. "In fact, it worked pretty well a few years ago."

"Six." Cuddy's eyes narrowed. "And just because I remember that, don't let it inflate your ego."

"Too late." House watched with glee as her gaze dropped to his lap. "Got you."

He watched her seethe with anger, a look he found particularly alluring. "Come on, Cuddy. Once more for all times sake?"

"Get out, House." She stood up. "I'm not having sex with you. I'm not going through all that again."

"What? Foreplay? I'm happy to ignore that part."

"I'm not having this discussion here. Get back to work."

House opened his mouth and then closed it again. He'd continue later.

--

"Oh for heaven's sake, you're like a recurring nightmare."

House smiled broadly, and, in Cuddy's opinion, slightly creepily, as he held up a bottle of wine.

"I thought you might feel like some more drunk fun," he suggested.

She looked at the bottle, then at him. "How much of a chance have I got of getting the wine but not you?"

"None at all," he said, limping in.

"I was worried that would be your answer." Cuddy closed the door behind him. "Come in, why don't you?"

"Thanks," he replied, sitting on her couch again.

Cuddy took a deep breath and went to get two wineglasses. "I'll just change."

House looked her up and down, taking in the pajama pants with coffee cups on them and her college sweatshirt. "Don't change on my account. I never thought I'd find such an outfit appealing."

"I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer," Cuddy said, sitting down. She held out her glass. "Pour."

"You're not changing."

A small smile crossed her face. "So sue me. The idea of you with blue balls is appealing."

House's eyes widened. He was truly speechless for a moment.

Smirking with satisfaction, Cuddy leant back in her chair. "I can give as good as I get, Dr House."

House still had his hand on the wine bottle. "You…uh…you pour."

Cuddy chuckled, taking the bottle. "It's these moments that I truly live for."

"If you like teasing me so much, why don't you seal the deal?"

She frowned. "And I hate that you can recover so quickly from being speechless."

"Okay, now it's my turn. I live for the moments when I make you so mad you're about to scream. Or the moments when you smile at me." He shifted in his seat. "And I hate that you still feel guilty over something that happened six years ago."

"Are you being sarcastic?"

"You're right, this is a bad idea. I'm going home." House stood up and started to limp towards the door.

"Never thought you'd be such a chicken over something."

House turned back to look at her. "I'm the chicken?" He took a step closer. "You're the one who called it off six years ago." Another step. "You're the one who still feels guilty over a judgment call." Another step. "You're the one who hibernates in her little office so she doesn't have to go anywhere near a human being."

"Okay, now that one is the pot calling the kettle black," she said. "You're the one that practically has to be bribed so he'll treat a patient."

"Not true. I'll treat them if they're interesting."

"So someone has to have some obscure disease for you to pay any attention to them?"

"I'm paying attention to you, aren't I?"

"Are you saying I have some sort of obscure disease?"

"Yes. Pig headedness."

"Takes one to know one."

"Maturity becomes you, Cuddy." He stood toe to toe with her. "Now that was sarcasm."

"What do you want?" Cuddy paused. "Apart from sex."

"Damn. You took away my fun." He sighed. "I want you to let go, Lisa. Just let go."


	3. Chapter 3

She shifted on her feet. His breath was warm and she could feel the telltale tingle that reminded her of their previous night together.

Dangerous, Lisa, dangerous.

"You wouldn't be afraid, would you?"

That put fire in the eyes.

"Of course I'm not afraid," she replied, hands on hips. "Especially not of you!"

"Okay then. So you and me, even playing field."

"Excuse me?"

"I assume this is still the way." House headed towards her bedroom. "Yep, found it! Wow, Cuddy, still haven't redecorated."

She followed him into her room, still unsure of him being there again. "You really know how to sweetalk a girl, House."

House sat down on her bed. "Watch me."

Cuddy arched an eyebrow. "If you think I'm going to watch you have sex with yourself on my bed, I'm going to go and watch a movie."

"What is this strange thing I see? Could it be Cuddy lightening up?"

"You keep going like that and I'm going to heave you out on your ass."

"Lisa. Watch me."

Her eyes locked onto his and then shifted to watch as he put his cane on the other side of the bed. He gave her a lopsided grin.

"Even playing field now. Your call."

Cuddy unfolded her arms. "Even if we did have sex…I'm not sure I want to go through all that again."

"Me being cranky and mad?" House tilted his head. "What's changed?"

"That's true."

"Cud…Lisa, you made a call. If you'd listened to what I asked you to do, I wouldn't be here right now." He paused. "Although that might have made life a whole lot easier for you. It would be more boring though."

She cracked a small smile. "That's true."

"I know you can let go of this. You have to."

"Why? So you get sex?"

"No, so you can stop torturing yourself."

"You torture yourself."

"That's different. It adds to my charm."

"House."

"Let it go."

She sighed and walked over to the bed. "Am I going to regret this in the morning?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe we'll be dead in the morning and it won't matter. Maybe something will shift and we'll be okay. Only one way to find out."

"True." Cuddy sat on the side of the bed. "So."

"Stop talking," House instructed her, as he cupped the back of her head with his hand.

"Who made…" The rest of her sentence was lost as he fused his lips to hers.

She moaned, realizing how much she had missed this, and not just because it shut him up for five seconds.

"That's what I like to hear," House told her. "Definitely missed hearing that."

"Shut up," Cuddy replied, moving in to kiss him again.

He gently nudged her until she lay on her back, his hands slipping under the sweatshirt. Her eyes closed, hands finding their way underneath his shirt.

His tongue ran across the seam of her lips and her

"I hate that you can do this to me," she whispered, lifting her arms as he tugged the sweatshirt off.

"No, what you hate is that I don't do it often enough."

With an ease that irritated her, House unsnapped her bra clasp and tossed the offending material out of the way.

Confronted with her breasts, he smiled. "Hello, my lovelies. Long time no see."

"I swear to God you have to be the only man in history who talks to breasts."

"Oh I…"

"And names them."

"I didn't want to offend them." Cupping one in each hand, he looked up at her. "Georgie and Maxie Jones."

"And you named them after sisters from General Hospital."

"Why are you still talking?" His lips trailed kisses over one breast, his tongue circling her nipple.

She growled, arching up as her hands tightened at the back of his head.

He smirked at her reactions. They brought back memories of the other time they had been together. It didn't matter how long it had been between dances. He knew her body almost as well as he knew his own. He knew where to touch to make her eyes squeeze shut, and where to press just a little firmer so that she bit her lip. He knew how and where to touch so that she would gasp, or groan, or plead with him to continue.

He always knew the exact moment when she was about to orgasm, and he always remembered how she looked when she did.

Right now, her eyes were watching him carefully as he trailed his hand down her body. As his fingers ran across her stomach, the muscles quivered and Cuddy's eyes slipped shut.

"I definitely remember that." His fingers stroked and caressed, watching as she sucked in deep breaths of air. "Always at the same point…" He pressed a kiss just above her belly button and went to work on the clasp of her pants.

It amazed Cuddy how different House could be in the bedroom. It had fascinated her the first time, how gentle he had been, how damn good he had been. He was big and hard and a perfect fit against her body. He liked it when she touched him, starting at his face and working her way down. Afterward, he had shocked her by putting his arm around her, letting her head rest against him.

At the time she had thought he was in some kind of Vicodin-induced haze. But now, with his hands gently working her pants and panties over her hips, she wasn't so sure.

House ran his hands back up her legs, noting the look of concentration on her face. "Something on your mind?"

"You…" She paused. "You've got too many clothes on."

No words of wit came to him as he started taking the rest of his clothes off. Cuddy watched him intently, eyes following his movements as she waited for each piece of skin to be revealed.

"Better?" he asked when he had finished.

Her eyes took him in. "Much."

House didn't move as she reached over, her fingers tracing the contours of his face. Her slow, rhythmic movements took her from his eyes, down to his lips, and finally her fingers trailed down his chest.

Cuddy leaned in, her lips brushing over his. "Just the same as before," she whispered, before kissing him again.

* * *

Moments later found Lisa Cuddy smiling smugly. House was now flat on his back, his eyes closed and his mouth formed in a completely satisfied look.

Without batting an eyelid, he curved his arm around her, tugging her into his body.

"Again?" she murmured. "God, you're insatiable."

"We're not dead."

She rested her head against his shoulder. "I'm glad you noticed."

"You're going to want to have a deep and meaningful analysis of this experience, aren't you?"

"Well, not right now."

"How about not ever?"

"House…"

"You let go." He yawned. "I think we need to make that a regular occurrence."

"House…"

"Goodnight, Dr Cuddy."

Damned if she'd let him have the last word.

"Goodnight, Dr House."

FINIS


End file.
